Reliance Jio now in public spat with telcos over WiFi in civic spots

Reliance Jio Infocomm and incumbent carriers are yet again on a collision course, this time over the sector regulator's call for boosting broadband penetration through low-cost WiFi in public places.

While Mukesh Ambani-owned Jio has backed Trai's call for citywide WiFi networks to boost broadband penetration, the Cellular Operators Association of India -representing Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular -says WiFi technology can at best be used to provision WiFi hotspots for Internet access.

"WiFi technology was conceived to provide short-range communications over an unlicensed band, which cannot be extended for providing commercial, ubiquitous city-wide networks," said COAI in its submission to Trai, adding that the very notion of public WiFi networks for citywide coverage is "incorrect".

In its submission, Jio has also urged Trai to promote interoperability between cellular LTE and WiFi networks. The networks of the future, it says, are IP-based, which will facilitate interoperability, that will allow mobile devices to dynamically use multiple network interfaces available to maximise user satisfaction and system performance.

Jio feels that since "WiFi is the predominant wireless Internet access technology, its accessibility will make it a critical part of a mobile operator's strategy to extend the user experience of Voice over LTE into areas where cellular coverage is poor ". Jio runs a countrywide VoLTE-based 4G network, where voice calls, typically, are provisioned over a 4G LTE data network, instead of the circuit-switched 2G or 3G networks which are commonly used.

The VoLTE technology, typically, allows voice to become just another app that rides on an LTE data network.Long-term evolution, or LTE, is the technology standard for delivering highspeed broadband services, popularly known as 4G.

Since COAI's majority members -- Airtel, Vodafone and Idea -- do not run VoLTE networks, the industry body has predictably said there is "no need for any regulatory intervention" for such interoperability between cellular and WiFi networks, which, it says, can emerge as a result of market forces.

Jio has also urged Trai to identify additional low frequency WiFi bands to cover larger areas in a cost-efficient manner, but the COAI feels there is no immediate need to delicense need to delicense any additional spectrum for WiFi.

On the issue of public Wi-Fi, Jio said Trai's discussion paper covers all relevant issues pertaining to Wi-Fi networks, and has accordingly, urged the government to "come out with enabling policies to facilitate Wi-Fi networks at the earliest," adding that the success of programmes like Digital India and Smart Cities would hinge on broadband proliferation.

The COAI though says WiFi has limited usability, which is for creating hotspots locally since the technology works on unlicensed bands and runs on low power.

The GSM industry body has also said that under the current licensing regime, internet services can only be provided by licensed telecom internet service providers who have their own network to extend the last mile access.

Telcos have historically viewed public Wi-Fi as a threat to their data revenue, although they concede that it would allow them to add much-needed data capacity without buying expensive spectrum since the technology offering Internet connectivity is delivered over unlicensed, free airwaves.